The $53 million man: Bob Perry’s political contributions by the numbers

Texas on the Potomac looks back on the political legacy of Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who died Saturday night at age 80. According to campaign finance watchdogs, he donated more than $53 million to political causes over the past four decades, more than 90 percent to Republicans and almost all to conservatives.

Here is a look at Bob Perry political impact by the numbers:

Source: InfluenceExplorer.com

$53,205,395

The amount of money Perry has donated to political candidates and causes that can be tracked by financial disclosure tools.

90%

The percentage of Perry’s candidate contributions that went to Republicans.

$1,710,000

The amount of money Perry has given to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (not related) in his statewide campaigns in Texas and his 2012 presidential race.

$965,265

The amount of money Perry gave to his favorite candidate running only in Texas, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

$15.5 million

The amount of money Perry gave to his favorite Super PAC, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads.

$3.5 million

The amount of money Perry donated to House Speaker Joe Straus and the six top statewide officeholders. Perry was the top donor to every statewide Republican officeholder in Texas. Perry’s largesse amounted to between 3 percent (Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst) and 10 percent (Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples) of the total campaign cash raised by the state’s top officials.

1978

Perry’s first major foray into Texas statewide politics. Perry was a backer of Democratic Gov. Dolph Briscoe in 1978 against his more liberal challenger, Attorney General John Hill, who was backed by Texas trial lawyers. When Hill defeated Briscoe, Perry switched to Republican nominee Bill Clements. Clement’s adviser Karl Rove began a 3-plus decade political relationship with Perry.

1984

Perry’s first major foray into federal politics. Perry got around the federal donation limit of $1,000 in 1984 by combining forces with five other family members to give multiple individual contributions to 21 candidates — 19 Republicans, 1 Democrat and 1 Independent. He underwrote the campaign of the so-called “Texas Six Pack,” the six insurgent Republicans who won election to Congress and changed the face of Congress. Among the candidates he backed that year: Reps. Tom DeLay, Dick Armey and Joe Barton, and Sens. Phil Gramm and Jesse Helms. In all, the Perry family donated $174,518 to candidates and conservative political action committees.

$569,700

Total amount of Perry’s contributions to federal elections before 2007.

$30,802,200

Total amount of Perry’s federal contributions, including Super PACs, over the past six years. He embraced the Super PAC phenomenon created by the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case and was the nation’s third-leading donor of Super PAC dollars after Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and Dallas industrialist Harold Simmons.

38

Number of contributions Perry made to his four favorite candidates for federal office from 1990 until his death. The fab four: former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, 11; Rep. Pete Sessions of Dallas, Rep. Joe Barton of Ennis and former Rep. Henry Bonilla of San Antonio, all 9.

8

Number of Democrats who received federal contributions from Perry over the past two decades. They are Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, Al Green of Houston and Henry Cuellar of Laredo, along with former Reps. Craig Washington of Houston, Chet Edwards of Waco, Charlie Stenholm of Stamford, George Brown of California and Tony Hall of Ohio. Jackson Lee and Hall were the only ones to receive more than one donation from Perry.